---
sidebar_position: 2
---

# CLI

The Wails CLI has a number of commands that are used for managing your projects. All commands are run in the following way:

`wails <command> <flags>`

## init

`wails init` is used for generating projects.

| Flag               | Description                                                                                                             |       Default       |
|:------------------ |:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |:-------------------:|
| -n "project name"  | Name of the project. **Mandatory**.                                                                                     |                     |
| -d "project dir"   | Project directory to create                                                                                             | Name of the project |
| -g                 | Initialise git repository                                                                                               |                     |
| -l                 | List available project templates                                                                                        |                     |
| -q                 | Suppress output to console                                                                                              |                     |
| -t "template name" | The project template to use. This can be the name of a default template or a URL to a remote template hosted on github. |       vanilla       |
| -ide               | Generate IDE project files `vscode` or `goland`                                                                         |                     |
| -f                 | Force build application                                                                                                 |        false        |

Example: `wails init -n test -d mytestproject -g -ide vscode -q`

This will generate a a project called "test" in the "mytestproject" directory, initialise git, generate vscode project files and do so silently.

More information on using IDEs with Wails can be found [here](../guides/ides.mdx).

### Remote Templates

Remote templates (hosted on GitHub) are supported and can be installed by using the template's project URL.

Example: `wails init -n test -t https://github.com/leaanthony/testtemplate[@v1.0.0]`

A list of community maintained templates can be found [here](../community/templates.mdx)

:::warning Attention

**The Wails project does not maintain, is not responsible nor liable for 3rd party templates!**

If you are unsure about a template, inspect `package.json` and `wails.json` for what scripts are run and what packages are installed.

:::

## build

`wails build` is used for compiling your project to a production-ready binary.

| Flag                 | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        | Default                                                                                                                                             |
|:-------------------- |:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| -clean               | Cleans the `build/bin` directory                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |                                                                                                                                                     |
| -compiler "compiler" | Use a different go compiler to build, eg go1.15beta1                                                                                                                                                                                                               | go                                                                                                                                                  |
| -debug               | Retains debug information in the application and shows the debug console. Allows the use of the devtools in the application window                                                                                                                                 |                                                                                                                                                     |
| -devtools            | Allows the use of the devtools in the application window in production (when -debug is not used). Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+F12 may be used to open the devtools window. *NOTE*: This option will make your application FAIL Mac appstore guidelines. Use for debugging only. |                                                                                                                                                     |
| -dryrun              | Prints the build command without executing it                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |                                                                                                                                                     |
| -f                   | Force build application                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |                                                                                                                                                     |
| -garbleargs          | Arguments to pass to garble                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        | `-literals -tiny -seed=random`                                                                                                                      |
| -ldflags "flags"     | Additional ldflags to pass to the compiler                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |                                                                                                                                                     |
| -m                   | Skip mod tidy before compile                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |                                                                                                                                                     |
| -nopackage           | Do not package application                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |                                                                                                                                                     |
| -nocolour            | Disable colour in output                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |                                                                                                                                                     |
| -nosyncgomod         | Do not sync go.mod with the Wails version                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |                                                                                                                                                     |
| -nsis                | Generate NSIS installer for Windows                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |                                                                                                                                                     |
| -o filename          | Output filename                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |                                                                                                                                                     |
| -obfuscated          | Obfuscate the application using [garble](https://github.com/burrowers/garble)                                                                                                                                                                                      |                                                                                                                                                     |
| -platform            | Build for the given (comma delimited) [platforms](../reference/cli.mdx#platforms) eg. `windows/arm64`. Note, if you do not give the architecture, `runtime.GOARCH` is used.                                                                                        | platform = `GOOS` environment variable if given else `runtime.GOOS`.<br/>arch = `GOARCH` environment variable if given else `runtime.GOARCH`. |
| -race                | Build with Go's race detector                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |                                                                                                                                                     |
| -s                   | Skip building the frontend                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |                                                                                                                                                     |
| -skipbindings        | Skip bindings generation                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |                                                                                                                                                     |
| -tags "extra tags"   | Build tags to pass to Go compiler. Must be quoted. Space or comma (but not both) separated                                                                                                                                                                         |                                                                                                                                                     |
| -trimpath            | Remove all file system paths from the resulting executable.                                                                                                                                                                                                        |                                                                                                                                                     |
| -u                   | Updates your project's `go.mod` to use the same version of Wails as the CLI                                                                                                                                                                                        |                                                                                                                                                     |
| -upx                 | Compress final binary using "upx"                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |                                                                                                                                                     |
| -upxflags            | Flags to pass to upx                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |                                                                                                                                                     |
| -v int               | Verbosity level (0 - silent, 1 - default, 2 - verbose)                                                                                                                                                                                                             | 1                                                                                                                                                   |
| -webview2            | WebView2 installer strategy: download,embed,browser,error                                                                                                                                                                                                          | download                                                                                                                                            |
| -windowsconsole      | Keep the console window for Windows builds                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |                                                                                                                                                     |

For a detailed description of the `webview2` flag, please refer to the [Windows](../guides/windows.mdx) Guide.

If you prefer to build using standard Go tooling, please consult the [Manual Builds](../guides/manual-builds.mdx) guide.

Example:

`wails build -clean -o myproject.exe`

:::info

On Mac, the application will be bundled with `Info.plist`, not `Info.dev.plist`.

:::

:::info UPX on Apple Silicon

There are [issues](https://github.com/upx/upx/issues/446) with using UPX with Apple Silicon.

:::

:::info Set minimal version for MacOS

You can override default [minimal version](../gettingstarted/installation#supported-platforms) of macOS for your app by providing version via `CGO_CFLAGS` and `CGO_LDFLAGS` environment variables. e.g. `CGO_CFLAGS=-mmacosx-version-min=10.15.0 CGO_LDFLAGS=-mmacosx-version-min=10.15.0 wails build`

:::

:::info UPX on Windows

Some Antivirus vendors false positively mark `upx` compressed binaries as virus, see [issue](https://github.com/upx/upx/issues/437).

:::

### Platforms

Supported platforms are:

| Platform         | Description                                   |
|:---------------- |:--------------------------------------------- |
| darwin           | MacOS + architecture of build machine         |
| darwin/amd64     | MacOS 10.13+ AMD64                            |
| darwin/arm64     | MacOS 11.0+ ARM64                             |
| darwin/universal | MacOS AMD64+ARM64 universal application       |
| windows          | Windows 10/11 + architecture of build machine |
| windows/amd64    | Windows 10/11 AMD64                           |
| windows/arm64    | Windows 10/11 ARM64                           |
| linux            | Linux + architecture of build machine         |
| linux/amd64      | Linux AMD64                                   |
| linux/arm64      | Linux ARM64                                   |

## doctor

`wails doctor` will run diagnostics to ensure that your system is ready for development.

Example:

```
Wails CLI v2.0.0-beta

Scanning system - Please wait (this may take a long time)...Done.

System
------
OS:             Windows 10 Pro
Version:        2009 (Build: 19043)
ID:             21H1
Go Version:     go1.18
Platform:       windows
Architecture:   amd64

Dependency      Package Name    Status          Version
----------      ------------    ------          -------
WebView2        N/A             Installed       93.0.961.52
npm             N/A             Installed       6.14.15
*upx            N/A             Installed       upx 3.96

* - Optional Dependency

Diagnosis
---------
Your system is ready for Wails development!

```

## dev

`wails dev` is used to run your application in a "live development" mode. This means:

- The application's `go.mod` will be updated to use the same version of Wails as the CLI
- The application is compiled and run automatically
- A watcher is started and will trigger a rebuild of your dev app if it detects changes to your go files
- A webserver is started on `http://localhost:34115` which serves your application (not just frontend) over http. This allows you to use your favourite browser development extensions
- All application assets are loaded from disk. If they are changed, the application will automatically reload (not rebuild). All connected browsers will also reload
- A JS module is generated that provides the following:
- JavaScript wrappers of your Go methods with autogenerated JSDoc, providing code hinting
- TypeScript versions of your Go structs, that can be constructed and passed to your go methods
- A second JS module is generated that provides a wrapper + TS declaration for the runtime
- On macOS, it will bundle the application into a `.app` file and run it. It will use a `build/darwin/Info.dev.plist` for development.

| Flag                         | Description                                                                                                                                                                         | Default               |
|:---------------------------- |:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |:--------------------- |
| -appargs "args"              | Arguments passed to the application in shell style                                                                                                                                  |                       |
| -assetdir "./path/to/assets" | Serve assets from the given directory instead of using the provided asset FS                                                                                                        | Value in `wails.json` |
| -browser                     | Opens a browser to `http://localhost:34115` on startup                                                                                                                              |                       |
| -compiler "compiler"         | Use a different go compiler to build, eg go1.15beta1                                                                                                                                | go                    |
| -debounce                    | The time to wait for reload after an asset change is detected                                                                                                                       | 100 (milliseconds)    |
| -devserver "host:port"       | The address to bind the wails dev server to                                                                                                                                         | "localhost:34115"     |
| -extensions                  | Extensions to trigger rebuilds (comma separated)                                                                                                                                    | go                    |
| -forcebuild                  | Force build of application                                                                                                                                                          |                       |
| -frontenddevserverurl "url"  | Use 3rd party dev server url to serve assets, EG Vite                                                                                                                               | ""                    |
| -ldflags "flags"             | Additional ldflags to pass to the compiler                                                                                                                                          |                       |
| -loglevel "loglevel"         | Loglevel to use - Trace, Debug, Info, Warning, Error                                                                                                                                | Debug                 |
| -nocolour                    | Turn off colour cli output                                                                                                                                                          | false                 |
| -noreload                    | Disable automatic reload when assets change                                                                                                                                         |                       |
| -nosyncgomod                 | Do not sync go.mod with the Wails version                                                                                                                                           | false                 |
| -race                        | Build with Go's race detector                                                                                                                                                       | false                 |
| -reloaddirs                  | Additional directories to trigger reloads (comma separated)                                                                                                                         | Value in `wails.json` |
| -s                           | Skip building the frontend                                                                                                                                                          | false                 |
| -save                        | Saves the given `assetdir`, `reloaddirs`, `wailsjsdir`, `debounce`, `devserver` and `frontenddevserverurl` flags in `wails.json` to become the defaults for subsequent invocations. |                       |
| -skipbindings                | Skip bindings generation                                                                                                                                                            |                       |
| -tags "extra tags"           | Build tags to pass to compiler (quoted and space separated)                                                                                                                         |                       |
| -v                           | Verbosity level (0 - silent, 1 - standard, 2 - verbose)                                                                                                                             | 1                     |
| -wailsjsdir                  | The directory to generate the generated Wails JS modules                                                                                                                            | Value in `wails.json` |

Example:

`wails dev -assetdir ./frontend/dist -wailsjsdir ./frontend/src -browser`

This command will do the following:

- Build the application and run it (more details [here](../guides/manual-builds.mdx)
- Generate the Wails JS modules in `./frontend/src`
- Watch for updates to files in `./frontend/dist` and reload on any change
- Open a browser and connect to the application

There is more information on using this feature with existing framework scripts [here](../guides/application-development.mdx#live-reloading).

## generate

### template

Wails uses templates for project generation. The `wails generate template` command helps scaffold a template so that it may be used for generating projects.

| Flag             | Description                                 |
|:---------------- |:------------------------------------------- |
| -name            | The template name (Mandatory)               |
| -frontend "path" | Path to frontend project to use in template |

For more details on creating templates, consult the [Templates guide](../guides/templates.mdx).

### module

The `wails generate module` command allows you to manually generate the `wailsjs` directory for your application.

| Flag                 | Description                                                 | Default |
|:-------------------- |:----------------------------------------------------------- |:------- |
| -compiler "compiler" | Use a different go compiler to build, eg go1.15beta1        | go      |
| -tags "extra tags"   | Build tags to pass to compiler (quoted and space separated) |         |

## update

`wails update` will update the version of the Wails CLI.

| Flag               | Description                           |
|:------------------ |:------------------------------------- |
| -pre               | Update to latest pre-release version  |
| -version "version" | Install a specific version of the CLI |

## version

`wails version` will simply output the current CLI version.
